OLE GJERSTAD - DIRECTOR

Ole trained as an anthropologist and worked 15 years in print journalism and radio before switching to television and filmmaking in 1988. He established Words & Pictures Videos/Vidéos Mots & Images in 1992 and has made approximately 50 documentaries for Canadian and foreign broadcasters -- directing, writing, and producing. In 2005, Ole joined two partners in Nunavut to found Piksuk Media Inc. Ole’s television and film work has won Gemini, Hot Docs!, Golden Sheaf and UNESCO awards, among many others.

Ole’s current projects include In The Crossfire/Sur la ligne de tir, a close-up action-filled portrait of U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour; Niaqqirijuq: The Great Distemper, a search for the truth in the killings of Inuit sled dogs in the 1950s and 1960s; Terres Arctiques, director and story editor for the 5x1-hour series about the new race for control of the Arctic; Ne Tirez Pas/Don’t Shoot/Nicht schiessen, co-writer and director of a one-hour doc about a fateful WWII battle between a Canadian warship and a German submarine that led to a life-long friendship between erstwhile deadly enemies.

FRANCINE ALLAIRE – PRODUCER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Now Director of Pedagogical Services of the Institut de l’image et du son (INIS), Francine Allaire has been with Galafilm in her role as producer and executive producer since 2001 to 2005. Her noteworthy accomplishments include Tripping the Wire: A Stephen Tree Mystery, a Stephen Surjik’s thriller with Clark Johnson that earned the 2005 Gemini Award for Best TV Movie. Agent of Influence, a CTV movie-of-the-week starring Christopher Plummer, Marina Orsini and directed by Michel Poulette, was sold in over 130 countries. Francine Allaire also produced three docu-soap series, École de danse, Mon été au camping and Marché Jean-Talon, Gémeaux’s Multiculturalism and Best Documentary Awards winner in 2004. The Blue Butterfly, directed by Léa Pool and starring William Hurt, Pascale Bussières and Marc Donato was a huge box-office hit in Canada in 2004.

Despite her new responsibilities at INIS, Francine Allaire is still involved in many Galafilm’s productions. She oversaw the production of La Rage de l’ange, the first feature directed by Dan Bigras released in 2006. The cast includes actors Alexandre Castonguay, Isabelle Guérard, Patrick Martin, Marina Orsini and Pierre Lebeau. Also, CTV recently broadcast an imposing movie made for TV produced by Allaire, Hunt for Justice: The Louise Arbour Story. Directed by Charles Binamé and filmed in Montreal, in Germany and in Holland, the film stars Wendy Crewson, John Corbett, William Hurt, Leslie Hope, Heino Ferch and Stipe Erceg. It was also honored with two Audience Choices Awards at the Orinda Film Festival. And a new documentary produced by Francine Allaire, Sylvie Groulx’s La Classe de Madame Lise just won a Jutra Award for best documentary.

In 1996, Francine joined SDA Productions, a subsidiary of Groupe Coscient/Motion International (now TVA International) as VP Development and was involved with the productions Sous le Signe du Lion, Riopelle, sans titre, 1999, collage, as well as, the documentaries In Search of Lucille - The Woman Behind the Surgeon’s Mask and Lucille Teasdale-Médecin de l’espoir. In 2000, she executive produced the MOW Dr Lucille - The Lucille Teasdale Story for CTV, TVA and RAI Uno. It garnered 9 Gemini nominations and won 5 awards including Best Television Movie. This television movie was sold to over 50 countries.

In the early nineties, Francine made her mark with numerous cultural organizations. During this period she worked for Telefilm Canada as Director of International Marketing, establishing and managing a substantial marketing assistance program for Canadian producers and exporters. She was then appointed Director of Communications and Special Projects at the Cinémathèque Québecoise – Musée du Cinéma in Montreal. Following this, Francine consulted for five years in various aspects of film; Content Analyst of film and television projects for Téléfilm Canada, Radio-Québec, Sogic, and the National Film Board of Canada, and as Consultant for Rogers Communications in the establishment of an investment fund for the production of documentaries for Canada’s English and French private sectors. Francine also drafted a study on the status of documentary film for the Quebec Government.

In the mid-70’s, she co-founded Cinéma Libre where she distributed independent Canadian and foreign films in Quebec. As Founder and President of Films Transit Inc. in Montreal and Holland in the 1980s, she managed international sales of Canadian films, organized Canadian film retrospectives throughout Europe, established a Canadian film season slot on Britain’s Channel 4, and produced a Dutch documentary Daughters of the Nile, which was filmed in Egypt, and sold globally.

ARNIE GELBART – EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Arnie Gelbart is the CEO of Galafilm, the internationally renowned, independent film, television and new media production company he founded in 1990.

Between 1984 and 1990, Gelbart co-founded and was President of Cleo 24 Inc, that produced several feature films, notably Cargo, Manuel, le fils emprunté, as well as Vent de galerne. Gelbart has also written and co-written a dozen feature films, such as the critically acclaimed feature Claire... cette nuit et demain and directed a number of dramas, documentaries and shorts.

Gelbart has produced commercially successful documentary programming for Galafilm, including the Primetime Emmy Award-winning series Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within, the Prix Europa winning The Origins of AIDS and Gemeaux Award-winning Big Sugar. Among his dozens of acclaimed and award-winning documentary one-offs, miniseries and series are The Valour and the Horror, The War of 1812, Korea: The Unfinished War, Chiefs, To Kill or to Cure, Marché Jean-Talon, Road Stories for the Flesh-Eating Future and École de Danse.

The company has produced or co-produced four feature award-winning films featuring Canada's internationally acclaimed directors: Lilies (John Greyson), The Hanging Garden (Thom Fitzgerald), Two Thousand and None (Arto Paragamian), and The Blue Butterfly (Lea Pool), La Rage de l’Ange (Dan Bigras), the Jutra Award-winning La Classe de Madame Lise (Sylvie Groulx) and Steel Toes (David Gow). Galafilm has also had great success with children’s programming (Tale of Teeka, The Worst Witch, 15/Love, Fungus the Bogeyman) and adult dramas and MOWs (Tripping the Wire, Hunt for Justice, Agent of Influence, Bliss).

Arnie Gelbart is a member of the Canadian Film and Television Producers Association, as well as a member of the APFTQ.

GALAFILM INC.

For over 16 years, Galafilm has been at the forefront of independent film and television production in Canada. Founded and helmed by Arnie Gelbart, the company has grown into one of Canada’s leading producers with a expertise of international co-productions. Synonymous with high-quality production values, Galafilm’s catalogue boasts over 200 hours of award winning and commercially successful entertainment content that aim to educate and entertain worldwide audiences. Galafilm’s diverse slate includes documentaries, youth programs, television dramas and feature films.

A pioneer in Canadian documentary production Galafilm built its reputation by producing close to 150 hours of cutting edge and socially reflective documentaries. Brian McKenna’s widely controversial The Valour and the Horror won three Gemini awards including Best Direction and Best Documentary Series. Since then, the company has earned numerous accolades for its documentaries, such as a 2003 Primetime Emmy award for Cirque du Soleil Fire Within, a 2004 Prix Europa for The Origins of AIDS and a Jutra Award for La classe de Madame Lise. In 2004 and 2005, Galafilm won the Gémeaux Awards for Best Documentary Series for Marché Jean-Talon and Big Sugar.

Galafilm has been a hit with the kids since its first foray into children’s programming; the award winning Tale of Teeka. Following this success the company produced four seasons of the Canada/UK co-production and international hit The Worst Witch. Current youth programs include the highly popular 15/Love, co-produced with France’s Marathon International and Fungus the Bogeyman, produced with production partner Indie Kids based in the UK.

Galafilm’s feature film ventures are striking. The company has produced six feature films, each directed by one of Canada’s pre-eminent talents. Lea Pool’s The Blue Buttefly (2004) was the second highest domestic box-office English-language hit in Canada. Arto Paragamian’s Two Thousand and None (2000) was honoured at the Taormina International Film Festival. Thom Fitzgerald’s The Hanging Garden, was winner of the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival Audience Award for Most Popular Film and John Greyson’s Lilies (1996), won four Genie Awards (Canada’s Academy Awards) including Best Motion Picture. La Rage de l’ange, directed by Dan Bigras released in 2006, and Steel Toes, directed by David Gow and Mark Adam, will be released in 2007.

As Galafilm’s production slate has expanded so have its creative pursuits. In the last few years, Galafilm has co-produced several successful television dramas. 2003’s Agent of Influence starred Christopher Plummer and Marina Orsini. This true-to-life story of espionage was sold in 130 territories worldwide. Bliss I-III, the groundbreaking erotic anthology series directed and told from a woman’s perspective garnered numerous awards and international recognition. Tripping the Wire: A Stephen Tree Mystery with Clark Johnson has been crowned Best TV Movie at the Geminis 2005. Directed by Charles Binamé, Hunt for Justice: The Louise Arbour Story featuring a stellar international cast including Wendy Crewson, John Corbett, William Hurt, Heino Ferch, Stipe Erceg and Leslie Hope was broadcast on CTV in 2006.

Domestic and international broadcast partners include CBC, Radio-Canada, CTV, The Global Television Network, TVOntario, History Television, YTV Canada, Discovery Canada and Discovery US, Showcase, PBS, Bravo!, Bravo US, Oxygen, Channel 4, ITV, France2 and La Cinquième. International coproducers include Indie Kids (UK), France2, Marathon International (France), Multimedia France Productions (MFP) and Germany’s Tatfilm.

More information is available at Galafilm’s website: www.galafilm.com.